Protests by a quarter of a million people have swept Brazil as demonstrators
express their anger over the amount of money being invested in the World Cup
and an increase in bus fares.

After days of demonstrations, described as "legitimate" by Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, activists filled the streets in more than a dozen cities, including those hosting matches at next year's football tournament, which is estimated to cost £10 billion.

In scenes rarely seen in Brazil since the fall of the dictatorship in 1985, crowds took to the streets, carrying placards reading: "World Cup for Who?" and "We don't need the World Cup".

"This message direct from the streets is for more citizenship, for better schools, hospitals, health centres, for more participation. My generation knows how much the freedom to protest costs."

She added that the government was listening to the calls for change.

A military police pepper sprays a protester during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro (AP)

More protests, which have coincided with the start of the Confederations Cup football tournament, were expected to take place on Thursday, with up to a million activists likely to take part.

"Everybody is extremely dissatisfied with the way things are going," said Theresa Williamson, director of CatComm, an NGO that campaigns for housing rights in Rio de Janeiro. "We were told, 'We're not investing in things because we don't have resources' and then all of a sudden, the resources are there. It's about equality and mobility, in all senses. I don't think there's been anything on this scale for 20 years."

The catalyst was the rise in bus fares of around 6p, which was announced in January, but postponed until later this year. The increase was to pay for improvements to the buses, including air-conditioning and disabled access ramps ahead of the World Cup.

The cities of Porto Alegre and Cuiaba have reportedly suggested they will lower the fare in a proposal unlikely to dampen the movement. Authorities in Pernambuco also indicated they will lower fares.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Belem, Para State (Reuters)

When protests in São Paulo were met with armoured police using tear gas and rubber bullets, public support flared and more demonstrations were organised.

Around 5,000 turned out in the country's capital Brasilia, home to the new £440 million Mane Garrincha stadium, where the Confederations Cup began on Saturday. In São Paulo, 65,000 filled the main roads of the country's biggest city, with protesters camping outside the governor's palace until the early hours.

There were also confrontations between the police and 10,000 protesters in Porto Alegre.

In Rio de Janeiro a small element out of the 100,000 crowd tried to breach the legislative assembly building, overturning and setting fire to a car, and smashing shop windows. Around 30 protesters and five police officers were injured.

A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest in Sao Paulo(Reuters)

But the biggest movement took place in downtown Rio de Janeiro, where a small element out of the 100,000 crowd tried to breach the legislative assembly building, overturned and set fire to a car, and smashed shop windows.

After many had arrived with flowers and calls for “no violence”, around 30 people were injured while 70 of the 150 military police officers were cornered by the protesters in the legislative assembly building. Five police officers were injured.

A security source said authorities had decided to hold back the city’s Shock battalion, a public order police unit, until the peaceful protest had dispersed.

“There was a lot of people participating in a peaceful protest so they waited for those people to leave,” the source said.

“It’s a hard task [to police protests during the Confederations Cup] but we will keep doing our work to preserve the rights of the people to come and go.”

Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s sports minister, insisted the uprisings would not affect the World Cup.

Speaking at the FT Business of Football summit in Rio on Monday, he said: “We live in a world marked by inequality. We have seen protests in London because of the Olympics, we’ve seen protests in Paris.

“Our manifestations are what we could call modest manifestations. Manifestations can be tolerated within limits.

“The Brazilian government has the responsibility and honour to host [the World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games]. The security forces are allowing protests but containing them within the security and safety limits for the events. That’s how we’re going to proceed.”